Fits Do Race Reviews: Securian Winter Run

By Jess in Minneapolis

Last Saturday, I ran the Securian Winter Run Half Marathon, formerly known as the Frozen Half Marathon. There is also a 5k and a 10k option on race day.

I ran this race as part of a bachelorette party (read all about it HERE). The bride-to-be had said we should all run it together as a "fun run." Now, I should mention that the bride-to-be's marathon PR is somewhere around 3:15, and she regularly throws down half marathons in the 1:30's...so I was a little worried that her "fun run" pace could be my hardest run ever! But fortunately, she was content as long as we kept it under two hours. She just wanted us all to have a good time!

And a good time, we had! It was nice to not be too stressed about a race ahead of time. We didn't do a warm-up before the race, and we just treated the 13.1 miles as a long run with good company. I think my official time was 1:56, which was about right for the effort for the day. Well...the "effort" did feel harder than the time showed, as the footing was a challenge, and the wind and cold made things a little tougher! I was sore afterwards, but I think that was because of my fall and the change in my running form due to the icy roads.

The race started at 9 am, and we were able to stay warm within the Securian building until right before the gun went off. We headed to the start line around 8:55, and before we knew it, we were off. There were pacers available, and I think there were some really competitive runners out there as well. I believe the official cutoff time on the other end for the half marathon was three hours. That would be long time to be out in those types of conditions!

The course first curves around the ice sculptures in Rice Park, before heading out and back on Shepherd road, which is a busy thoroughfare in St. Paul. There is a killer hill right at mile 12 or so, where plenty of people actually decided to walk (I was very tempted to join them!) The rest of the course is rolling hills on a concrete road. Its not very scenic, but it was a change of scenery from the rest of my long runs, and there were plenty of water stops (though the water was frozen at some stops!) There was no Gatorade though, only water in small bottles at 3-4 points along the course.

I am so grateful for those volunteers who stood out there in the freezing cold to give us water- THANK YOU!

course map

The Securian Winter Run is a "runner's" race. There's no swag, no medals, no fanfare. There were some shirts available for purchase, and the first 1,000 registrants did receive a pair of fit-socks, which was nice, but none of the swag of a Team Ortho race. Instead, its a cold winter run for tough runners who are willing to brave the elements without all the "glory."

shirts available for purchase

I did the race last year (read that recap HERE). It was cold then as well, but the difference this year was that the roads were really, really slippery. I actually wiped out once around mile 10, and became really paranoid after that about falling again. I backed off a bit and ended up getting separated from the rest of the girls, though we all finished within minutes of each other.

After the race, there was chili and hot coffee available as well as your standard post-race goodies like bananas, chips, bread, and salted nut rolls (or maybe that's only standard in Minnesota?) We were all freezing, so there wasn't a lot of stretching before we headed to the free showers at the St. Paul YMCA to warm up and change into dry clothes for the rest of the bachelorette festivities.

Even though the weather is guaranteed to be cold, I still like this race. It keeps you in shape over the winter, and I enjoy running in St. Paul for a change. Parking is free for the race. Its just an easy and affordable half marathon option that I recommend for anyone wiling to run outside in the winter. It probably isn't a PR course, nor PR weather, but for $35, you can't beat it.

....I just had to get a picture of this guy. You know I love a bright outfit, but this guy made my running gear look dull. Nice work buddy!

A Wintry Half Marathon and a Bachelorette Party!

Hey, 30 day plank challenge participants: today is a rest day, and tomorrow we do four minutes!

I actually missed planking yesterday, so I needed to make it up today. I was able to do my 3.5 minutes with no break to the knees. I did rotate a few times to a side plank, but I kept working the whole 3.5 minutes. It was a challenge, but I think I am stronger than I was on 1/1/14.

How do you feel? Stronger? We are almost to five minutes!

You can also still enter into the drawing for the $50 gift card to Gear Running store. Just comment and answer four questions on THIS POST. I'm leaving the giveaway open for one week, so you have until next Wednesday to enter. The winner will be announced Thursday, January 30th on the blog!

Yesterday was a crazy fun but full day for my friend Jen's bachelorette party. We started out with a freezing cold half marathon, the Securian Winter Run in St. Paul.

We tried to stick together in a group, and do the run for fun, but around mile 10, I actually wiped out on the icy roads! I got a little nervous at that point, and the rest of the girls got ahead of me, but we all finished under two hours. I was happy with that time for a "fun run" in such tough conditions! I will post a full race review later this week.

Then, after a quick shower at the St. Paul YMCA (free for runners post-race), we headed to Phresh for manicures and pedicures. We had a lovely private room for all twelve or so ladies to get pampered, while sipping on champagne and enjoying some tasty snacks.

Eventually, we made our way to the historic Saint Paul Hotel to get dolled up before the bachelorette opened her gifts, while we enjoyed more snacks and more champagne!

We had dinner reservations at 8 pm at Pazzaluna, which was right across the street from the Saint Paul Hotel  I had never eaten there before, but I think most everyone enjoyed their meals. It was in the perfect location too, as by that time of night it was really snowing (which, I should mention was very pretty by Rice Park, with all the decorations for the Winter Carnival. St. Paul can be quite charming!).

After dinner, we went back to the hotel lobby bar for a bit, before taking the hotel's van out to a few drinking establishments in the lowertown neighborhood of St. Paul:

(said hotel van)

We found our way to Barrio St. Paul for some dancing, as well as the Bulldog before cabbing it back to the hotel for the night.

It was a very busy day, but we all had such a great time celebrating the bride-to-be, with what she described as "the perfect day"- running, mani/pedis, dinner, and lots of girl time!

Only Minnesota girls run half marathons in sub-zero temps for a bachelorette party, right? 

We say brrring it on!

Fits Do Race Reviews: Securian Winter Run

By Cool J in Minneapolis

This morning I ran the Securian Winter Run, formerly known as the "Frozen Half." 

Well, let's be honest, a lot of us still call it the frozen half!

In my "Fits Do Future Race Reviews post from a few months ago, I did publicly state that I was going to run this race, and I did register a few months ago. I hate to register for a race and not run it, but as the race date approached, I started second guessing whether or not I was ready to run a half marathon. It wasn't a question of whether I could finish it. It was a question of whether I would end up with a time that might be discouraging on my "Get Faster" campaign.

But I wanted to do a long run today anyways, so I figured I could go into it with the mentality that it was just a supported long run with a nice change of scenery for the route.

And it was! I didn't PR, but I felt pretty good. It was a confidence boost to find out where I am right now, and to know I don't have that far to go. I've put it out there into the blogosphere that I want to run 3:45 at Newport, and according to McMillan's Pace Calculator, I should try to get to a 1:46 half marathon race time. I didn't reach that goal today, but I feel like maybe, just maybe it's obtainable. Perhaps I can get there, after we delve into speed training for Newport with the expert coaches at Calhoun Beach Running Club.

As for the race? It's a pretty good winter run. Here is what I posted previously on my "future" race review:

The Securian Run
When: Saturday, January 26
Where: St. Paul, MN
Website: http://www.securian.com/Securian/Securian+Winter+Run/
This half marathon has a rocky history. The first time I registered, it was so cold that the race directors shortened it to a 1/4 marathon. The second time I ran it, the turn around point was set too early, and the race only ended up being 11 miles! Needless to say, I set quite a PR at that one! However, this is one of few long distance races in the area in the cold months of winter, so it's definitely on my radar.

So maybe the race has had a few hiccups in the past (though I completely understood why they shorten the race when it's too cold for the volunteers!) But I definitely give this race a positive review. It was well-organized; they even had pacers this year! It's not too big or too crowded either. And the race was definitely the full 13.1 miles today. In fact, my Garmin said 13.35 miles, so we didn't get shortchanged this time around!

The course goes along Shepherd Road in St. Paul, which follows the Mississippi River. There are definitely some rolling hills on this road, and one killer hill right around mile 12. It's a challenging spot for a tough hill. In fact, I thought about walking it. But it's short, and at that point, you're almost to the finish line, so I pushed through (at a much slower pace!)

{course map taken from my non-cold-weather-loving iPhone}

The road is concrete rather than pavement, which some runners really don't like. I didn't notice it being particularily hard, but then again, it was 0 degrees at the start. I didn't feel a whole lot of anything! The road did have a bit of a camber too, which could be a little annoying sometimes.

And yes, about the temperature...I guess it could have been worse. The wind wasn't so bad, and I warmed up pretty well and felt that I was dressed appropriately. Only my face got really cold, even with a neck gator pulled up around it. (Tip? Wear a neck gator and keep turning it around as it gets sweaty and frozen for dry protection from the cold).

It was probably a lot colder for the volunteers handing out the water. After all...

Yes, there were volunteers handing out water. I think there were three support stops over the course of the 13.1 miles. There was also a 10k and a 5k going on, and we all shared the course for part of the race, but only a short portion.  The water wasn't in cups, but was actual small water bottles. I think that had something to do with keeping the water from freezing? Or from spilling on the volunteers? I'm not sure. It was a little different, but worked just fine. 

I took one GU around mile 8. It was super frozen and thick. Ugh.

Post-Race Swag: There are no medals at the finish, and no finisher's shirts. This is a bit more of a "runner's race" without a lot of SWAG. Well, obviously there are no fair weather runners out there on such a cold day! Every runner did receive a commemorative mug.

Post-Race Goodies: They did have warm chili, red bull, water, fruit, bagels, chips, and granola bars at the finish. And you did get to wait inside the heated Securian building before and after the race! That was nice, especially since I got there a little too early. The race didn't start until 9 am, and I arrived around 7:45. The porta-potties, however, were outside. Talk about freezing your bum!

Parking was also free until 1 p.m. in the Securian parking lots, and the St. Paul YMCA offered free showers for the runners. Since I did this race on my own (well, except my friend Mason, but no Dusters) I just sped home after the race for a hot shower to de-thaw.

{My frozen friend for the day- thanks Mason!}

Every year, there is a "mascot" who dresses up in all gold with a torch...

I'm not entirely sure what he's supposed to be.

Here he is starting off the race!

{Photo courtesy of the Securian Run's facebook page}

Of course, after I zipped home, my fingers turned white and numb. Even with my super warm Craft bi-finger gloves, I still experience the symptoms of Raynaud's during the winter...so strange! Anyone else have this?

Other than the cold temps, the hill at the finish, and the lack of a medal, I still enjoyed this race and am really glad that I did it.

Nice job Securian and thanks to all the brave volunteers!